Queen meets IIUM Palestinian students

KUALA LUMPUR: Raja Permaisuri Agong Tunku Hajah Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah met 22 Palestinian students at the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) campus in Gombak on Thursday (Oct 26).

Tunku Azizah, also the IIUM constitutional head, spent 45 minutes listening to the students' concerns over the unrest in their homeland.

Her Majesty, who was visibly moved by the group's narratives, expressed her sadness and sympathy for the suffering of the Palestinian people, who have been denied their rights and oppressed by the Zionist regime for so long.

Tunku Azizah invited those present to pray and hoped that the relevant authorities would take immediate action to end the atrocities against the Palestinian people.

During the meeting, Tunku Azizah also accepted a letter representing the heartfelt voices of the Palestinian student community at IIUM to be presented to Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah.

There are currently 43 Palestinian students studying various fields of study at IIUM. Thirty are taking up Master's or PhD degree programmes, while the rest are pursuing a bachelor's degree.

Belal Ahmed, 30, a representative of the IIUM Palestinian student community who is pursuing a master's degree in law, said it has been difficult to contact his family in Gaza since the recent conflict began on Oct 7.

"We have lost contact with them since the war started. We send a message, and they reply only after a week or two or three days," he told reporters, adding that his family has to walk more than five kilometres to get 20 litres of clean water because supply is limited.

Meanwhile, IIUM Rector Emeritus Prof Tan Sri Dzulkifli Abdul Razak said the university established an emergency humanitarian aid fund for the Palestinian people earlier this month.

A total of RM60,000 has been collected. The fund is still open for donations until Friday (Oct 26).

Funds collected will be coordinated by the Ministry of Higher Education and distributed to the responsible agencies to assist the victims directly.- Bernama